Topics tagged with 'Science'
Media round-up
26 Jul 2024
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: major failings in Hawke's Bay Cyclone Gabrielle response; how fast-track delayed a key climate policy; and the problem with the government’s science and innovation policies.
Tasmanian 'Eco-Milk' tests shoppers' thirst for climate-friendly dairy
26 Jul 2024
A small dairy in Tasmania is stocking supermarket shelves with what it says is the world's first branded milk produced by cows fed with a seaweed that makes them emit lower levels of environmentally damaging methane gas.
Govt funding cuts “throttling” climate work
12 Jul 2024
A coalition of scientists say that the government axing half a billion dollars of science funding and scrapping more than 350 specialist science roles will sabotage vital work across climate, the environment, and farming.
At-risk islands are missing from climate change models, researchers warn
12 Jul 2024
Urgent international cooperation is required to provide small island states and territories with the information they need to respond effectively to the existential threat of climate change.
Oceanic and coastal water temperatures highest recorded
10 Jul 2024
Media release | Between 2022 and 2023, oceanic and coastal waters around Aotearoa New Zealand reached their warmest annual temperatures since the series began in 1982, according to data released by Stats NZ today.
Climate change is making scientists reassess what is "normal"
4 Jul 2024
Media release | NIWA has completed a major project to analyse how New Zealand’s "climate normals" are shifting.
NZ’s wettest and driest spells to become more extreme
4 Jul 2024
Media release | A new study published yesterday shows how a warming climate will impact New Zealand’s wet and dry weather extremes, giving decision-makers the power to plan for the future.
Media round-up
14 Jun 2024
In our weekly round-up of the climate coverage in local media: Uncertainty abounds in the ETS; a major Atlantic current collapsing could disrupt NZ’s climate again; and is the government focussing on drilling or climate ambition – it can’t be both.
University of Canterbury research 'curbing our carbon conundrum'
14 Jun 2024
Media release | Crushing rocks, injecting CO underground, and burning trees; UC researchers are finding solutions to Aotearoa New Zealand’s 100 million tonne carbon problem.
Hottest June temperature ever
13 Jun 2024
The mercury hit a high on Monday, setting a new national temperature record of 25.7C for June.
Basic income can double global GDP while reducing carbon emissions
11 Jun 2024
Media release | Giving a regular cash payment to the entire world population has the potential to increase global gross domestic product (GDP) by 130%.
‘No additional warming’ for methane target - but relative to when, asks expert?
7 Jun 2024
Advocates of the government’s methane review will probably be disappointed to learn that aligning the target with “no additional warming” might not give farmers the green light to relax about their methane emissions.
Humanity must extract seven to nine billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year
5 Jun 2024
Media release | New State of Carbon Dioxide Removal report shows the need for a much stronger set of policies.
Flood damage a growing risk for NZ’s kelp forests
27 May 2024
Media release | Timber slash and debris from flooding events is decimating Aotearoa New Zealand’s vital underwater kelp forests, a nationwide study shows.
Environment commissioner calls for separate ETS for methane
23 May 2024
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has again called for forestry to be phased out of the Emissions Trading Scheme and is calling for a separate ETS for methane.
We’ve underestimated the ‘Doomsday’ glacier - and the consequences could be devastating
23 May 2024
The Thwaites Glacier, dubbed ‘Doomsday’, could trigger a two-foot rise in global sea levels if it melts completely.
Antarctica likely storing more carbon than previously thought
21 May 2024
Media release | Antarctica is likely a carbon storage powerhouse, according to NIWA.
Concern over job losses at Scion
17 May 2024
Foresters are “deeply apprehensive” over potential redundancies of scientists at Scion, with a proposed 30 jobs losses - about 10% the forestry crown research institute’s workforce.
Carbon pricing works: major meta-study
17 May 2024
Media release | Carbon pricing systems achieve between 5% and 21% emission reductions in their first few years of operation, according to a new study.
‘Unprecedented’: CO2 in the atmosphere is rising 10 times faster than at any point over 50,000 years
17 May 2024
Ice built up in the Antarctic over hundreds of thousands of years is helping scientists to understand today's climate.
Major conference for Pacific experts on Indigenous knowledge and climate crisis
9 May 2024
More than 60 Pacific experts are at a conference looking at the intersection between Indigenous knowledge and the climate crisis, hosted by the University of Canterbury.
Kiwi company aims to make alternative protein from carbon emissions
6 May 2024
A New Zealand-based start-up has raised $1 million towards commercialising production of an alternative protein made with carbon emissions.
Commission rejects basis for review of methane targets - but methane vaccines could be good news for ag sector
9 Apr 2024
The Climate Change Commission has rejected the basis of a new, separate review of Aotearoa’s methane target in its advice released yesterday.
Best by the rest...
5 Apr 2024
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: How to avoid a billion climate deaths? Why pressure must increase to cut emissions; and the Maōri king and other indigenous Pacific leaders sign up to granting whales legal personhood.
Scientists warn Australians to prepare for megadroughts lasting more than 20 years
5 Apr 2024
New research shows megadroughts lasting up to 20 years or more have occurred in Australia in the past and could happen again.
Half of Tairāwhiti at risk of erosion - new data
28 Mar 2024
An estimated 182 million tonnes of eroded soil entered New Zealand's rivers in 2022, according to new research.
Mountain species at risk of extinction due to climate change
28 Mar 2024
Experts say an international study that has found species in mountain regions are at risk of extinction due to rapidly rising temperatures has worrying implications for New Zealand.
Methane-detecting satellite launched with NZ govt backing
6 Mar 2024
A long-awaited satellite designed to accurately detect methane emissions from space finally launched yesterday, with New Zealand backing.
Native snails heading for extinction
27 Feb 2024
Media release | New Zealand has some of the most spectacular land snails in the world, but they’re sliding to extinction – and climate change is a major factor.
Researchers looking to develop ‘resilience credit’
20 Feb 2024
Researchers are hoping to develop the world’s first 'resilience credit' as the ultimate goal of a project looking at how salt marshes and mangroves could protect the Bay of Plenty’s coastline from climate change.
Kiwi researchers rewriting climate history
13 Feb 2024
New Zealand researchers say they have rewritten the deep time history of Earth’s temperature record with findings that disprove ideas that early oceans were hot.
A leading data scientist's journey from doomism to climate hope
12 Feb 2024
Data scientist Hannah Ritchie argues that planetary damage could be about to peak – but that the US election result could be "pivotal".
Scientists call for a new hurricane category as storms intensify
7 Feb 2024
Kiwi scientists are welcoming international research suggesting we need a new hurricane category to communicate just how much more intense the biggest tropical cyclones are expected to become under climate change.
Sustainability and climate change concerns for Central Otago - new research
26 Jan 2024
Sustainability and climate are high on the list of concerns for people in Central Otago - and they don’t want a new airport, according to research released today.
Climate crisis to blame for more extreme weather - NIWA
24 Jan 2024
Scientists have been working on joining the dots between human-driven climate change and more extreme weather since the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
Octopus DNA contains grave warning for sea level rise
22 Dec 2023
Media Release | Scientists have used octopus DNA to discover that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) likely collapsed during the Last Interglacial period around 120,000 years ago when global temperatures were similar to today.
NZ a consistent carbon sink - new research
21 Dec 2023
Aotearoa is a consistent carbon sink, while Australia switches between being a carbon sink and a carbon source, according to new research.
Powerful climate deniers delay action in NZ: new report
18 Dec 2023
Most New Zealanders believe in climate change and its human cause - but climate change deniers are often over-represented in powerful positions and are delaying action, according to new research.
Climate change might be to blame for ozone hole - new research
22 Nov 2023
Ozone levels above Antarctica may not be recovering after all, and climate change might be to blame, according to NZ scientists.
Bottom trawling risks releasing massive ocean CO2 sink: new report
17 Nov 2023
New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone contains about 2,240 million tonnes of organic carbon or 1% of the estimated global carbon stocks in marine sediments, a report commissioned by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has found.
Heat-related deaths could increase fivefold by middle of 21st century
16 Nov 2023
Heat-related deaths could increase almost fivefold by the middle of the century, according to an international WHO co-authored report by more than 100 researchers.
New study highlights need to address risk of continued global warming after net zero
16 Nov 2023
From scorching heat waves to torrential downpours and devastating storms, the disastrous effects of global warming are sweeping across the world.
Global heating is accelerating, warns scientist who sounded climate alarm in the 80s
6 Nov 2023
Study delivers dire warning although rate of increase is debated by some scientists amid a record-breaking year of heat.
NZ’s response to climate change ‘hangs in the balance’: scientists
3 Nov 2023
Scientists are calling on the incoming government to urgently rebuild the country’s research, science and innovation sector - with our climate change response at risk.
Marsden Fund grants for climate research
2 Nov 2023
Research into climate and the energy transition are among 123 projects taking $83.59 million from this year’s Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden, the Marsden Fund, announced today.
New govt funding for climate research
30 Oct 2023
One third of this year’s Rutherford Fellowships are for climate research, with four of the 12 researchers tackling climate-related projects with $800,000 each from the fund over five years.
Proposal to include non-forestry land in NDC calculation
25 Oct 2023
By Jeremy Rose | A Cabinet minute from July of this year agreed in principle to include non-forest land in New Zealand’s nationally determined contribution.
10% of wilderness outside of Antarctica may be threatened by agriculture as the climate warms
20 Oct 2023
Media release | Expansions in crop farming across the globe are the biggest driving force of biodiversity loss in the wild. Now, in a new study publishing in the journal Current Biology on November 6, researchers have modeled how the world’s agricultural landscape could change over the next 40 years.
Sea-level rise likely to skyrocket if Paris Agreement targets not met
19 Oct 2023
Media release | The Greenland ice sheet is projected to undergo abrupt losses due to melting if global warming exceeds temperatures of around 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures, according to a modelling study published in Nature.
Climate change increases risk of earthquake damage
17 Oct 2023
Climate change not only worsens storms, but also increases the risk of landslides and flooding after earthquakes, according to researchers.
Govt backs faster uptake of on-farm emissions tools with $51m fund
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is investing up to $51 million over three years to help accelerate the uptake of on-farm emissions reduction technologies, with a new AgriZeroNZ initiative aimed at getting proven tools into the hands of farmers sooner.
Call for wider investigation into private back-channel emails in PM’s office
Tue 9 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a full investigation into the use of private email in the Prime Minister's Office, as the scandal following a missing Fonterra and Z Energy climate policy briefing document drags on.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Airline CEOs warn EU plan to expand carbon costs will raise fares
Wed 10 Jun 2026
Europe's biggest airlines have urged the European Union not to extend its Emissions Trading System to cover international flights, warning the move would raise ticket prices, a letter seen by Reuters showed.
Fed Farmers' election wish-list includes stopping whole-farm conversions to carbon forestry
Tue 9 Jun 2026
Federated Farmers has launched a five-point plan for the next government, setting out what it says should be a major focus for political parties heading into the November election.
Huntly biomass option no cheap fix, Genesis tells MPs
28 May 2026
Genesis Energy says biomass can be burned in Huntly's Rankine units, but current costs put it in roughly the same price range as imported LNG and extra Rankine capacity would be expensive and could take years.
Treasury says 2030 climate target could cost $5 billion
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | Treasury is predicting it could cost between $4.4 and $5 billion to buy the offshore mitigation needed to meet New Zealand’s 84-96 million tonne emissions reduction shortfall for its 2030 target under the Paris Agreement.
Solar power hits new milestones in the US even as Trump boosts coal over clean energy
Thu 11 Jun 2026
Even as President Donald Trump boosts coal over clean energy, solar power is hitting new milestones in the U.S. and remains the leading source of new power.
No bidders again: NZ carbon auction extends losing streak
Tue 9 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams |New Zealand's carbon auction has failed for the sixth consecutive time, with no bidders emerging for the 2.6 million NZUs on offer as secondary market prices remain well below the Government's $71 auction floor price.
Importing LNG would raise costs and emissions: it’s a terrible decision for New Zealand
Tue 9 Jun 2026
COMMENT: Today’s announcement from the Government is political smoke and mirrors, with electricity users’ wallets still set to bear the brunt of the proposed LNG facility, writes Christina Hood.
NZ’s sustainable finance credibility gap
5 Jun 2026
By Manbo He | COMMENT: New Zealand has built serious sustainable finance infrastructure - but risks failing to attract the global capital that infrastructure was designed for, because it lacks the practitioner capability to operate it credibly.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
18 May 2026
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
What Magyar’s defeat of Orbán in Hungary means for climate and energy
21 Apr 2026
Hungary has played a disproportionate role in EU climate and energy policy in recent years, by repeatedly vetoing climate action and by delaying the phaseout of Russian fossil-fuel imports.
‘A shame’: experts on decision to send Govt carbon auctions offshore
Wed 10 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | Carbon market experts are questioning whether the Government has made the right decision in sending its auctions of carbon 'pollution permits' worth billions of dollars offshore.
LNG imports might not be needed for 'dry year' security: redacted report
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | The need for imported liquefied natural gas to provide security of supply in a dry year is low, according to newly released modelling, with some scenarios featuring higher levels of renewable generation requiring no gas imports at all.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Once-in-a-century floods routine as sea levels rise due to climate change
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A coastal flood expected to occur just once every 100 years is now hitting Wellington about twice a year, according to new international research that scientists say offers clear evidence of how climate change is already reshaping New Zealand's coastline.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
GHG Protocol under fire as standards board member resigns
Thu 11 Jun 2026
At the heart of former GHG Protocol standards board member Danny Cullenward’s complaint is the protocol’s approach to forest carbon accounting.
Liebreich: Electrify first, insure second
Thu 11 Jun 2026
New Zealand is having an argument about gas while the rest of the world is building an electric future. That, in essence, is the challenge Michael Liebreich left behind after a visit to Wellington last week.
Meridian nears Pūkaki approval despite energy security warning
Tue 9 Jun 2026
Meridian Energy is close to winning fast-track approval to draw Lake Pūkaki deeper than normally allowed, despite the Energy Minister warning the move could weaken New Zealand’s dry-year electricity security and saying he does not support the application in its current form.
Cabinet green-lights $55M super-critical geothermal drilling programme
Tue 9 Jun 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Cabinet has agreed to release the $55 million unspent of the $60m secured by Resources Minister Shane Jones to drill up to 5 kilometres deep into super-critical geothermal heat under the Taupō volcanic zone.
Oxfam calls on Govt to renew climate finance commitments
Mon 8 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government's failure to renew international climate finance commitments has left Pacific nations short at least $100 million a year, with Oxfam Aotearoa linking the funding gap to New Zealand's weakened Emissions Trading Scheme.
Antarctic surface melt set to increase dramatically this century, new study finds
Wed 10 Jun 2026
Media release – Victoria University | New research shows surface melting across Antarctica is set to intensify and spread dramatically over the 21st century, with melt increasing by 10 times and the area affected growing by more than 10 percent by 2100 if global temperatures continue to rise.
Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime
15 May 2026
By Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | Most of us are familiar with the concept of greenwashing: organisations exaggerating or overstating their environmental credentials. But in New Zealand, there are signs the country’s climate disclosure regime may inadvertently be driving a very different trend: not saying much at all.
Hipkins pans LNG plan as ‘massive step backwards’
19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told a Queenstown audience that a Government he leads would not proceed with a planned LNG import terminal, if elected at November’s election.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
'Ad hoc, piecemeal, incomplete': NZ's approach to hazards not fit for purpose, says insurer
Wed 10 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's ability to manage natural hazard risks is failing to keep pace with the growing threat posed by floods, storms, earthquakes and climate change, according to a new report from IAG.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
EU sues Ireland over failure to protect carbon-rich bogs
Mon 8 Jun 2026
The European Commission is taking Ireland to court over its failure to protect environmentally crucial boglands from commercial turf-cutters.
Labour on overturning LNG: ‘we’d need to see the contract’
Tue 9 Jun 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | An incoming Labour government later this year would need “to look at the contract” before deciding whether it would be bound by the current government’s commitment to a user-pays funded liquefied natural gas terminal.
Changes to emissions factors prompt caution over climate claims
4 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Organisations may need to revisit how they calculate and communicate their greenhouse gas emissions after the Ministry for the Environment released an updated version of its Measuring Emissions Guide, incorporating new emissions factors based on New Zealand's latest greenhouse gas inventory.
Climate risks could reshape business finances, new guidance warns
15 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New guidance warns climate change is set to fundamentally reshape financial outcomes for businesses, including difficult-to-model climate “tipping points” – irreversible changes such as ice sheet collapse or ocean circulation shifts – which threaten severe and sudden financial impacts.
'Terrible result': Emissions barely budged in 2024
5 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions were virtually unchanged in 2024, falling by 0.03%, despite the economy shrinking by ten times that amount during the same period, according to new data.
Lack of demand leads to Bathurst pausing coal mine expansion
2 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | Bathurst Resources has confirmed it is struggling to find a market for coal from its planned extension of the Rotowaro coal mine in North Waikato, and is putting the project on ‘pause’.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Alaskans reel from the loss of National Science Foundation ocean-monitoring instruments
Thu 11 Jun 2026
With its multi-billion-dollar fishing industry and vulnerable coastal communities, scientists say the federal government’s decision leaves Alaska flying blind.
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project
23 Apr 2026
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Seven ‘new approaches’ to avoid our Paris commitments: Carr
4 Jun 2026
Praying for “new approaches” to materialise to meet our international climate obligations isn’t a strategy, writes Rod Carr.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
Six NZ climate solutions up for 2026 Earthshot prize
21 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Six New Zealand climate and sustainability initiatives have been nominated for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, with the shortlist showcasing Kiwi-led solutions tackling emissions, plastic waste and ocean restoration.
Northern Thai residents march for action on polluted rivers. ‘This is an emergency’
Tue 9 Jun 2026
More than 600 residents of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces embarked May 31 on a roughly 68-kilometer, six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand the Thai government take action on the river pollution crisis that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals.
Why China's critical minerals strategy leaves the US behind
Mon 8 Jun 2026
The United States cannot realistically recreate that dominance overnight even if the political will existed.
Sustainable finance taxonomy for energy sector – consultation
Mon 8 Jun 2026
The Centre for Sustainable Finance is consulting on the sustainable finance taxonomy’s draft energy sector criteria.
NZ’s largest rooftop solar switched on at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Thu 11 Jun 2026
Media release | Sunergise, New Zealand’s leading commercial solar company, has switched on the country’s largest-ever rooftop solar installation at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s East Tāmaki campus in Auckland.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
Lodestone launches virtual rooftop solar scheme
Wed 10 Jun 2026
A new virtual solar scheme launching in Hawke's Bay aims to make locally generated renewable electricity accessible to households and businesses that cannot install rooftop panels on their own properties.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
EU wants households to cut peak time energy use as demand from industry and AI soars
5 Jun 2026
A new law will aim to use artificial intelligence to boost efficient use of power as electricity demand threatens to overwhelm Europe’s grids.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Labour pledges unlimited public transport for $20 a week
Wed 10 Jun 2026
The Labour Party is promising to cap weekly public transport fares at $20 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, if elected in November.
Bonn Bulletin: Tackling climate crisis is “hardest” challenge ever, Stiell says
Tue 9 Jun 2026
The June Climate Meetings open with a reminder to delegates of the tough but ever-clearer imperative of shifting away from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Project linking food waste to cutting methane emissions gets underway
27 May 2026
Media release | Kai Commitment is leading a New Zealand-first project to help understand the connection between food waste and methane emissions and identify effective interventions.
Record-breaking heat and dry spring leave parts of England without water
2 Jun 2026
Thousands of households in southeast England were left without water or facing low pressure during a record-breaking heatwave this week, as high demand followed a dry spring to expose the failings in Britain's ageing infrastructure.
Increase in wildfire-driven ozone linked to premature deaths across the U.S.
Wed 10 Jun 2026
Smog linked to wildfires is getting worse across much of the U.S., playing a role in more than 300 additional premature deaths every year since 2013, researchers say.
Waikato launches vision for energy transition bringing $4.5 billion investment to the region
Mon 8 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Waikato Regional Council has released a strategy aiming to position the region at the centre of New Zealand's energy transition, with plans to boost energy security, cut emissions and unlock billions of dollars in economic opportunities by 2050.
